Bond Adapt reads CVs linearly, so anything that breaks that flow — tables, columns, headers — scrambles the data. If your CV looks fine in Word but falls apart after upload, this guide shows you exactly what to change and why.
TL;DR: Bond Adapt fails mostly on tables, columns, non-standard fonts, and inconsistent section headings. Use a single-column layout, standard fonts, and clear headings like "Work Experience". Submit text-based Word docs under 2MB. If you send 20+ CVs a week to Bond Adapt clients, Distill cleans and formats them automatically.
Quick diagnosis: Is this a Bond Adapt formatting problem?
Use this decision tree to identify the issue in under 60 seconds:
| Symptom | Likely cause | Quick check |
|---|---|---|
| Work history out of order | Tables or two-column layout | Open the CV, look for tables or columns |
| Contact details missing | Info in header, footer, or text box | Is the name/email inside a header or floating box? |
| Section dropped entirely | Non-standard heading | Does it say “Career History” instead of “Work Experience”? |
| Fonts replaced or misaligned | Non-standard or decorative font | Look for script, custom, or embedded fonts |
| Dates misread | Inconsistent date format | Check for mixed formats like “2018 to Present” |
| Gibberish after PDF upload | Scanned or image-based PDF | Try selecting text in the PDF — can you? |
If none apply, the issue may be a client-side Bond Adapt configuration. Contact your ATS admin.
Why Bond Adapt fails on CVs: root causes ranked by frequency
Tables and columns Bond Adapt's parser reads top to bottom, left to right. Tables and multi-column layouts rearrange text spatially, so the parser mixes the order or drops cells. Skills and contact blocks are most affected.
Headers, footers, and page numbers Bond Adapt frequently ignores or misplaces anything in headers and footers. Contact details placed there often disappear.
Non-standard section headings The parser maps data to fields using recognised headings. "Career Summary" or "Employment" instead of "Work Experience" can cause whole sections to go unmapped.
Non-standard fonts Fonts outside system defaults get substituted, which breaks alignment and can corrupt special characters.
Embedded images, logos, and text boxes These are ignored by the parser and can also push a file over the 2MB upload limit.
Inconsistent date formats Mixed formats such as "Jan 2018 – Dec 2020" alongside "2018 to Present" confuse date extraction, so roles get misdated or dropped.
Step-by-step fix for Bond Adapt CV formatting
Convert tables and columns to single-column text Replace tables with simple line breaks and bullet points. Remove any two-column layout.
Move contact details into the body Put name, phone, and email in plain text on the first page — never in a header, footer, or text box.
Use consistent, standard section headings Stick to "Personal Details", "Work Experience", "Education", "Skills", "Certifications". Bold them; don't underline or colour them.
Use standard fonts only Arial, Calibri, or Times New Roman. Avoid decorative or embedded fonts.
Standardise dates Use one format throughout, e.g. "Jan 2018 – Dec 2020". Spell out a current role as the month it started to the word "Present" only if used consistently.
Remove images and floating objects Delete photos, logos, and watermarks. They aren't parsed and inflate file size.
Save as a text-based Word doc Prefer .doc or .docx. If a PDF is required, ensure the text is selectable (not a scan) and keep the file under 2MB.
Run a test upload Upload to a dummy Bond Adapt profile and confirm name, dates, and skills mapped correctly before sending to the client.
How to prevent Bond Adapt formatting errors on future submittals
- Standardise a Bond Adapt-friendly template across your team — single column, standard headings, no tables.
- Train recruiters on the no-tables, no-headers, standard-headings rule.
- Use Distill to automate cleanup when volume makes manual fixes unsustainable.
- Keep a quick pre-upload checklist covering layout, fonts, headings, file type, and size.
When to escalate to Distill
Manual fixes work for the odd CV but break down at scale. Use Distill if:
- You submit 20 or more CVs per week to Bond Adapt clients.
- Your team spends more than 10 minutes cleaning each CV.
- You want to strip name, email, phone, photo, and graduation year before submission.
- You need consistent single-column formatting without rework.
Distill flattens tables, removes headers and images, and outputs a clean single-column Word doc tuned to Bond Adapt's parsing rules. It runs as a pre-upload step alongside your existing export workflow.
FAQ
Q: Can I use PDFs with Bond Adapt? A: Yes, but only text-based PDFs under 2MB. Scanned or image-based PDFs parse as gibberish. Word docs are safer.
Q: Why do my contact details vanish? A: They're almost always inside a header, footer, or text box. Move them into the main body on page one.
Q: Can I keep a two-column layout? A: No. Columns reorder text and scramble work history. Use a single column.
Q: What fonts are safest? A: Arial, Calibri, and Times New Roman. Avoid script, decorative, or embedded fonts.
Q: Does removing tables lose data? A: Only if skills or languages live inside tables. Reformat that content as bullet points first.
If you send 20+ CVs a week to Bond Adapt clients, Distill formats them to the spec above automatically. Try Distill free and cut your CV prep time to seconds.